Litchi is a summer fruit with sweet and sour juicy flesh enjoyed across Bangladesh. It is loaded with healthy nutrients, and is known to be an exotic fruit besides having a very short shelf life.
Start eating litchi for boosting the immune system. Litchi is rich in antioxidants, vitamin B-complex, vitamin C, and flavonoids.This special fruit used for weight loss management. It also prevents cancer, improves digestion, builds strong bones, and lowers blood pressure. Litchi helps to defend the body against viruses, improve circulation, and optimize metabolic activities.
Nutritional Value of litchi
Litchi is packed with health benefits. It includes vitamin C, vitamin B6, niacin, riboflavin, folate, copper, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese.
Aid in digestion
The significant amount of dietary fiber in lychee, as in most fruits and vegetables, may help add bulk to your stool and possibly increase your digestive health. This may help bowel movements move through the digestive tract smoothly, and fiber may also stimulate peristaltic motion of the smooth small intestine muscles, possibly increasing the speed of food passing. It may also stimulate gastric and digestive juices, so the absorption of nutrients is efficient. This can reduce constipation and other gastrointestinal disorders.
Provides anti-cancer benefits
Antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin A and other antioxidantal compounds like phytonutrients, polyphenols, and flavonoids, etc in litchi protect our cells and tissues from free radical damage and minimizes the risk of several cancers like colon cancer, abdominal cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer, etc.
The proanthocyanidins compound in lychee have strong anti-cancer properties and reduces the risk of several cancers.
Free radicals are the unstabilized ions that stabilize by stealing electrons from the neighboring molecules, and doing so causes oxidative damage to them.
Provides anti-viral benefits
Litchis are anti-viral and minimize the risk of several viral infections. “Lithcitannin A2”, a proanthocyanidin compound in litchi prevents the spread and outbreak of various viruses, including herpes simplex virus and coxsackievirus.
“Oligonol”, a phenolic compound in litchi inhibits the influenza virus from multiplying, and thus combat influenza.
Controls hypertension
The vasodilating properties of potassium in litchi relax our blood vessels, improves blood circulation, and thus provides relief from high blood pressure or hypertension.
Hypertension is a silent killer that affects millions of people around the world and gives rise to various health problems like severe headaches, nose bleed, chest pain, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, difficulty in breathing, vision problems, and blood in urine, etc.
Reduce inflammation
The flavanols in litchis have anti-inflammatory properties. This help is fighting flu and infections during the summer months.
Rich in vitamin C
Litchi is packed with Vitamin C that proves to be a good antioxidant and improves the immune function of our body. Vitamin C helps to boost immunity to protect the body against common issues like cough, cold, flu and day-to-day infections.
Soothes the skin
The high water content in the litchi pulp helps in soothing the skin and prevents the summer skin problems such as redness or itchiness. The two excellent skin vitamins are: Vitamin C and Vitamin E and are also present in the fruit which helps in maintaining the skin elasticity, improving the skin texture, and the skin health.
Maintains healthy bones
Litchi is a wealthy source of phosphorus and magnesium which supports powerful bones and trace minerals like copper and manganese which strengthens brittle bones. Along with zinc, copper it boosts the effectiveness of Vitamin D which increases the assimilation of calcium which maintains the health of the bones.
Hydrates the body
As per the USDA, the water content present in 100 g litchi is 81.76 g. Litchi is filled with water and helps in maintaining the body hydrated for a long duration of time during summers. Litchi helps in maintaining the electrolyte balance of body and prevents nausea and headache.
